Sandy Ford (56) gassed her three young grandchildren in a car in her garage

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Sandy Ford (56) gassed her three young grandchildren in a car in her garage

Within an hour after Mandy Hayes dropped off three of her children at Whiteford Elementary School on Monday, she was told in a phone call from the school that they had failed to show up in their classrooms, police revealed on Tuesday.

Sylvania Township police put out an all-points bulletin to area law enforcement to be on the lookout for Paige Hayes, 10, Logan Hayes, 7, and Madalyn Hayes, 5, after receiving a report from Mrs. Hayes that they were missing.

Chief Robert Boehme said Mrs. Hayes suspected her children had been taken from the school by their maternal grandmother, Sandy Ford.

Hours later, the three children ? along with Mrs. Ford, 56, her son, Andy Ford, 32, and three family pets ? were found dead, presumably of carbon monoxide poisoning, inside a car parked inside the garage of Mrs. Ford?s Harvest Lane home in West Toledo.

The three children and two adults were jammed in the back seat of the car. The two dogs and the cat were in the front seat.

Authorities are continuing to investigate what they are calling a multiple murder-suicide case, and said the adults might have been motivated by a ?custody? dispute between Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Hayes.

?There?s years and years of experience here [at the Toledo Police Department], and we?ve been at a complete loss as to how you can have two adults conspire to kill three children,? Toledo police Sgt. Tim Noble said. ?It?s really hard to comprehend.?

Monday afternoon, Randy Ford, 60, Mrs. Ford?s husband, returned home from work without any sign of his family. Inside there were ?suspicious? notes from his wife, son, and grandchildren that caused him to become concerned, police have said.

Once he realized he could not get into the garage, Mr. Ford called police at 3:17 p.m. At 3:26 p.m., police and fire crews arrived on scene; firefighters forced entry into the garage using a sledgehammer. Inside they found a running truck with hoses in the exhaust funneling into a rear passenger window, filling the car with fumes, apparently causing the deaths of the children, Mrs. Ford, her son, two Shepherd-mix dogs, and a cat.

Toledo police declined to release the notes, citing the ongoing investigation, and declined to comment on how many were left, whom they were written to, or what the notes said.

When asked if the notes gave any indication what the children knew about the apparent plans of Mrs. Ford and her son, Sgt. Joe Heffernan said, ?We don?t know.?

Chief Boehme said a township officer went to the Ford residence several times to check on their safety after Mrs. Hayes reported the children were missing about 10 a.m, but did not get anyone to answer the door.

The incident was handled as ?interference with custody?, not an abduction, the chief said, because Mrs. Hayes thought her mother, Mrs. Ford, had the children.

"She suspected her right in the beginning," he said.

Chief Boehme said school officials, who called Mrs. Hayes at home about 8:20 a.m., reviewed the video recording from inside the building that showed Mrs. Ford waiting inside the school lobby, where she took her grandchildren and left.

Chief Boehme said officers sent out a missing persons bulletin on the disappearance with a description of each child, but didn't issue an Amber Alert because the incident didn't meet the criteria for the emergency notification program.

?All I can tell you is that there were no red flags to indicate the children were in imminent danger,? he said. ?There was nothing at that point to show that Sandy would harm the children.?

In 2009, Mrs. Hayes and her husband, Chris Hayes, asked Mrs. Hayes' parents to take care of the three children while they dealt with another child's ?significant behavior problems,? said Dean Sparks, executive director of Lucas County Children Services.

Mr. Sparks declined to elaborate on what the behavioral problems were, but said Mrs. Hayes ?was overwhelmed? and asking her parents to watch the children was the right thing to do.

The children lived with their grandparents and uncle in the Harvest Lane home ? with continued and frequent contact and visits from their parents ? for several years without any reported problems, authorities from several agencies said.

The first sign of possible trouble came this year ? on Nov. 6 ? when Toledo police were called to the Ford's home for a report of domestic violence between Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Hayes, authorities said.

Sergeant Heffernan said Tuesday that the report about the incident was not available.

Police were back at the home only days later for a custody exchange, Sergeant Heffernan said.

On Saturday, Mr. Sparks said, the children moved back into their parents' home, apparently against the wishes of Mrs. Ford.

?[Mrs. Ford] wanted to prevent the mother [Mrs. Hayes] from coming to take the children, but we had no legal authority to do that,? Mr. Sparks said.

Because Mr. and Mrs. Hayes asked the grandparents to watch the children, there was no need for Children Services to do a home study, he said.

In the three years that Paige, Logan, and Madalyn lived with the grandparents, the sibling who remained with the parents had seen therapists and had ?been in all kinds of services,? Mr. Sparks said.

Until Nov. 7, the agency had no involvement with the family since 2009, when they were contacted because of the dispute between Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Hayes. A caseworker was ?working with the family because of the conflict, but there was no indication that this would happen,? Mr. Sparks said.

Kim Slater, the older sister of Mr. Hayes, said her brother and sister-in-law were happy to have their family back together.

?[Mandy] was posting every day on Facebook how much she adored her kids and how thankful she was,? said Ms. Slater, who lives in York, Pa. ?She was so thankful for the kids living at home again.?

Ms. Slater described the three children as ?adorable. They were so sweet, and just good kids.? She added that Mr. and Mrs. Hayes recently had a fifth child and that, through Facebook postings, Ms. Slater noted that Mrs. Hayes ?was honestly the happiest I'd ever seen her.?

Neither Mandy nor Chris Hayes appeared to be at their Sylvania home Tuesday when a reporter knocked on the door.

Neighbors who live on their quiet street either declined to comment or said the Hayes family is quiet and mostly keeps to themselves.

Not far away, at Whiteford Elementary, counselors, teachers, and staff were working to make sure students had time to talk about their thoughts and feelings.

Sylvania City Schools Superintendent Bradley Rieger said there was a counselor or school psychologist in every classroom for the entire day.

In the morning, teachers and staff ?greeted kids with warm smiles and hugs? and, after morning announcements, had the students in each class sit in a circle where the teachers ? without going into detail ? said three of their schoolmates had died. The students were then encouraged to talk about the memories of the children or to talk about their own experiences with death.

Mr. Rieger, who spent most of the day with fourth and fifth grade classes at the school ? Paige was in fifth grade, Logan in second, and Madalyn in kindergarten ? said students also made posters or another art project in memory of the Hayes children.

?They were really powerful,? he said.

In Paige's class, Mr. Rieger learned that the 10-year-old had, last week, received an award from the D.A.R.E. Officers there because ?she was the type of student who had great character and a great work ethic.?

Funeral services are being handled by Dowling Funeral Home, 7509 New West Rd., said director John Dowling.

Visitation is expected to be held Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. The funeral is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. at Olivet Lutheran Church, 5840 Monroe St.

Three of the precious children of Christopher and Mandy Hayes, Paige, Logan and Madalyn received their angel wings November 12, 2012, in Toledo.

Paige was born January 8, 2002 in Toledo and always looked forward to seeing her 5th grade classmates and teachers at Whiteford Elementary School. She was a sweet, loving, whole hearted, kind person that loved all animals. She had a love for life and was the greatest gift a parent could ever receive. She will be deeply missed. We love you Paige.

Logan also was a 2nd grade student at Whiteford Elementary School and also enjoyed school. He was born June 2, 2005, in Toledo. He was a determined, hard worker, loving sweetheart and loved helping others. Logan was a strong little guy and put his whole heart into everything he did. He will be cherished in our hearts forever. He will be deeply missed and we love you Logan Ray.

Madalyn the youngest angel was born January 19, 2007 in Toledo. Although she was here for such a short time she made a big impact on everyone she met. She attended kindergarten at Whiteford Elementary School. She was a precious, cute, had a beautiful smile, funny, loving and would always brighten your day. She was a carefree angel that was light hearted, full of energy and spunk. This little baby daughter was a tremendous blessing. We will deeply miss you. We love you Madalyn Rose.

The children were preceded in death by their great-grandfather, Ray Ford and grandfather, Larry Hayes. They are survived by their loving parents, Christopher L. and Mandy L. Hayes; brothers, Blake, Jayden Hayes; grandfather, Randy Ford; many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Visitation will be held Saturday from 4-8 p.m. and Sunday from 1-8 p.m. at the Dowling Funeral Home, 7509 New West Road at King Road, (King Rd between Central and Sylvania Ave.) Toledo, 419-841-8111. Funeral services will be held Monday at 11a.m. at the Olivet Lutheran Church in Sylvania. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial contribution to the Toledo Humane Society. For additional information or condolences, please visit,

The mother of three children killed this week in what police believe was a murder-suicide said Wednesday her mother and brother weren't in their "right minds" when the deaths occurred.

Notes found at a Toledo house indicate the children's grandmother and uncle planned to kill themselves and the children by funneling fumes from a pickup truck into a car where their five bodies were found Monday, police said.

The children's mother, Mandy Hayes, told WTOL-TV in Toledo that her mom was her best friend and she was close to her brother.

The children, their 54-year-old grandmother Sandy Ford, and their 32-year-old uncle Andy Ford, died of carbon monoxide poisoning, a coroner ruled Wednesday in a finding that confirmed what investigators already suspected.

"I don't know what happened," Hayes said in an emotional interview. "They weren't in their right minds. That's all I can say. Something snapped, where it just — I don't know. I can't explain it, really."

Hayes' husband, Chris, drew a different conclusion.

"I think she really did not want those kids to ever come home, is what the deal was there," he said of the grandmother in the WTOL interview. "She felt that she was their mother."

Investigators and family friends say the murder-suicide appears to stem from a family disagreement over where the children should live.

For the past three years, the children ages 10, 7, and 5, lived with their grandmother. Mandy Hayes asked her mother to care for them after another son at home had behavior problems and was becoming disruptive, according to children services workers.

But within the past week, the children moved back into their parents' home, angering the grandmother who believed the youngsters would be better off with her, according to child welfare workers.

Police were called to intervene twice last week, but they said they saw no signs the children were in danger.

On Monday morning, Sandy Ford picked up the children from school not long after their mother dropped them off, and the grandmother took them back to her home, police said.

Mandy Hayes said when the school called to tell her the kids were not there, she called police.

"I figured it was my mom that had snatched them," she said. She kept calling her mom but she never answered.

Chris Hayes said he also knew the grandmother was involved once he learned the children were not at the school.

Authorities were called to the home by the children's frantic grandfather after he discovered the letters and was unable to force open the garage door.

Firefighters using a sledgehammer broke down the garage door to find the bodies of 5-year-old Madalyn Hayes, 7-year-old Logan Hayes and 10-year-old Paige Hayes slumped inside the car along with their grandmother and uncle. Two hoses attached to the exhaust of a pickup truck pumped gas fumes through the car's rear window.

A funeral for the children is set for Monday in Toledo with visitation scheduled for this weekend.

Was Andy still living at home? Sandy sounds controlling from what I am reading. Maybe she had such control over her son that he would do anything for her? Or maybe he had a mental illness?

I say post them. Didn't it say in the article I posted above that Mandy and Sandy were best friends? It almost sounded like she thought her mum had snapped and didn't blame her (not exactly but you know what I mean?). But then what you posted from her FB sounds very hateful. Rightfully so.

You're right. That is strange. In the same article they also talk about how the police had to intervene twice in the past week. Mandy also called the police right away when her kids were missing because she figured her mom had snatched them. doesn't really sound like best friends.

But I can imagine her thinking that this came out of the blue until she found out from the receipts and notes that they planned it ahead.

This is so heartbreaking! There really are no words. I feel awful for everyone involved. This happened near my home and after looking at Andy Fords f.b I noticed we share a few mutual friends. Everyone who knew the uncle can't understand why he went along with this, which is understandable. I can't believe they put the family pets in the car.

This is so sad. It seems like she had the attitude "If I can't have them no one can". I'm confused as well why the Uncle and pets were in the car. Maybe because the pets would have made noise and someone would have came sooner?

Heartbreaking! As a grandparent, if I thought my gbabies where unsafe, I would fight in court for custody. What could possess her to kill her grandchildren? Looks like she took everyone she cared about with her. RIP little ones. These stories tear me up.

"When it comes time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall. ~ Confucius

I just don't get how she can go from posting a video of her grandchildren singing happy bday to mom and a video of Mandy swimming with her kid, in september, to murdering all of them two months later. I wonder if she did it because, like Rythm said, she didn't want anyone to have them if she couldn't have them or because she thought they wouldn't be safe if they went back home. I'm thinking the first one. I'm wondering if she manipulated Andy into thinking that this was the best solution.

It really seems like everything was fine until mom wanted her kids back.

I just don't get how she can go from posting a video of her grandchildren singing happy bday to mom and a video of Mandy swimming with her kid, in september, to murdering all of them two months later. I wonder if she did it because, like Rythm said, she didn't want anyone to have them if she couldn't have them or because she thought they wouldn't be safe if they went back home. I'm thinking the first one. I'm wondering if she manipulated Andy into thinking that this was the best solution.

It really seems like everything was fine until mom wanted her kids back.

I'm struggling with that too. Why now?

"When it comes time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall. ~ Confucius

Chief Boehme said a township officer went to the Ford residence several times to check on their safety after Mrs. Hayes reported the children were missing about 10 a.m, but did not get anyone to answer the door.

Someone was knocking on the door while they were all in the garage dying but no one heard the car running? They were probably already gone but still it seems they could have found them sooner.